If You Cheat, Just Don’t Tell Me - Chapter 25

“You really are such an idiot!”

I don’t think I did anything wrong. Even if it’s not considered proper in noble society, I acted according to my own heart.

Call it meddling? Well, yeah. This is just my selfish self-satisfaction. She probably never wanted me to do something like this anyway.

I could never have done it alone. I wouldn’t even have thought of doing it. …No, if those guys hadn’t been around, I wouldn’t even have met her in the first place.

That’s why I’m grateful. Though I’m still too embarrassed to say it properly. Someday, I absolutely want to repay this feeling. That’s what I think.

The day I stormed into the Fidel household. I’d pushed the guild to prepare immediate payment for completing the demon invasion stampede relief request. Then I had them send word ahead that I’d be visiting the Fidel house. For some reason the Fidel house ignored it, but that’s not my problem.

The guild doesn’t normally do things like this. There was also the condition that I’d prioritize the guild’s designated requests, but that can’t be helped. Basically, those are just requests nobody else wants to take, but if it earns the guild’s trust, it’s not all bad. You can never have too much trust when you’re in this for the long haul.

“You! What do you think you’re doing, showing up now!?”

“What do you mean what? I’m lending money to the Spirits house. The Spirits house will use that money to repay their debt to the Fidel house. That’s all there is to it, right?”

In the reception room, Lucius glared at me like he wanted to shoot me dead, but that kind of look doesn’t scare me at all. Who does he think he’s dealing with?

I handed the money to the head of the Spirits house—Freya’s father—and left the room. It might seem irresponsible, but negotiating with the Fidel house isn’t my job, and to be honest, I was about to collapse right then.

I was covered in wounds, bleeding everywhere, and completely out of magical power. I was only standing and moving through sheer willpower.

Fighting the master of the demon invasion one-on-one? I was just a fool with blood rushing to my head back then. I never want to do something that reckless again. If there ever is a next time, I’ll bring Alta and the others and fight properly as a team. …Well, it’d be better if there never is a next time.

When I left the room, Freya looked like she wanted to say something, but I ignored her gaze and left the Fidel house. I had plenty I wanted to say to Freya too but you understand that wasn’t the place for that kind of conversation, right?

I headed home with my companions who’d been waiting outside the Fidel house. They were all chattering about something, but I was at my limit by then and none of it registered.

When I got home, I ignored the noisy servants and quickly took a bath before promptly lying down on my bed. I’d already received minimal treatment for my injuries at the guild, so there was nothing left to do even after coming home.

The clothes I wore today, I’ll dispose of them. They’re torn to shreds, soaked with blood, and can no longer function as clothing.

I’ll have to buy new work clothes again. Thinking about such things, I fell asleep that day.

It sounds like an unbelievable story, but apparently I slept for three whole days until I woke up. When I woke up, my whole body hurt and felt heavy, my throat was desperately dry, and even though I should have just collapsed onto my bed haphazardly, I was sleeping in a proper position. I genuinely didn’t understand what was happening at first.

But what I really didn’t understand was something else entirely.

“…Good morning, I suppose?”

The first words I heard upon waking were in that voice I’d grown accustomed to lately.

Unconsciously turning my head toward the sound, there was a crimson-haired girl dressed in a calm, refined white blouse and navy-blue long skirt.

“Freya…?”

Freya was peering at me with an inexplicable expression, her eyebrows and corners of her mouth twitching slightly as if she was using willpower to suppress any change in her expression.

“Why are you here? Cough…”

“Ah, you idiot! Don’t try to speak suddenly! …Here, some water. Drink it slowly.”

Freya offered me a glass of water that had been placed beside the bed. I somehow managed to raise my aching body, took the glass from Freya, and drank slowly as instructed.

One sip, two… The water soaked into my parched, sticking throat. Before I knew it, the glass was already empty, and Freya took it back from me.

“…Phew. Thanks, Freya.”

“You’re welcome, though I might not have the right to say that.”

Freya’s attitude was more wilted than I’d ever seen before. Her usually spirited eyes were now weakly lowered, and her hands holding the glass she’d taken from me seemed to be trembling slightly.

I tried to say something to this Freya, but couldn’t find the words and just ended up breathing in the air.

I woke up to find Freya sitting beside me for some reason. I still couldn’t process that situation, and now the Freya in question was completely lacking energy.

There were only Freya and me in this room. Thinking that far, the events up to now suddenly came back to me.

“Hey, what happened after that?”

What discussions took place after I handed over the money? I had no idea what kind of heated arguments or what kind of deal was made, but I could vaguely understand one thing.

Simply put, this current situation demonstrated it. I mean, right? It’s not normal for a noble’s daughter to be alone in a room with a man who isn’t even her fiancé. …It’s not, right? Am I being old-fashioned?

As I was thinking this to myself, Freya began speaking in fragments.

“Thanks to the money you brought, the Spirits house’s debt to the Fidel house is gone.”

“That’s good.”

“Thank you so much… The Spirits house owes you an impossible debt. If anything happens from now on, tell the Spirits house anything. We’ll definitely help you.”

“Huh… That’s reassuring.”

The debt being gone is good news. Well, with that much gold coin piled up, it’d be troubling if it wasn’t paid off. The Spirits house’s help is also welcome.

…But that’s not the important part for me. Money talk and such are trivial matters. There are more important things, and both my companions and I risked our bodies for them. Risked our lives.

“Freya, tell me.”

At my call, Freya’s shoulders twitched. …Well, Freya probably knows what I’m going to ask.

And yet this reaction… Could it be that it’s already too late?

—Even if that’s the case, I have to ask, right? The facts. The reality. Whether Freya and Lucius’s engagement was finalized, or whether that fell through but my engagement was canceled.

Whatever. Whatever she says, I’ll accept it. Or so I thought.

“…Thanks to you, the debt is gone, so of course I wouldn’t marry anyone but you! You idiot! What were you thinking, dragging everyone into something so dangerous! You should have just left me alone! Taking advantage of your kindness, saying stupid things…! Me, who couldn’t do anything.”

“Freya…”

“I was shocked when I heard from the guild people and everyone else. Charging alone at the master of the demon invasion, aren’t you an idiot.?”

“Well… that… um…”

“After all that talk about having no talent! Sticking your head into dangerous situations! Getting seriously injured like this! What were you thinking!”

It wasn’t particularly loud. But at Freya’s shout filled with emotion, I became unable to say anything.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming from Freya’s eyes, and I finally understood that her strange expression earlier was from holding this back.

“…I thought you might never wake up.”

“…That’s impossible. I’m the son of the Sword Saint and the Sage, right?”

“Idiot! Really. I really thought you might die.”

Saying this, I embraced the sobbing Freya like a child against my chest. My body complained with pain, but I didn’t care at all.

“What do you think I fought that thing for? There’s no way I’d die.”

“You really are. such an idiot!”

I turned Freya’s tear-streaked face toward me. I wasn’t particularly thinking about anything. But it happened naturally. After all, we’re getting married, so this is normal, right?

The distance between my lips and Freya’s became zero. We felt each other’s breath, then gently pulled away.

“I love you, Freya. I want you to marry me.”

“I love you too, Dicca. Please marry me.”

Then we kissed just once more.

She gets angry for my sake, for my companions’ sake. She cries for us. She smiles for us. She doesn’t care about my house or talent. She sees me for who I am.

‘It’s not the people around you who shape you. You shape yourself through your own actions.’

Somehow, I felt like I finally understood a little of what the old man had been saying.

I fell in love with Freya, Freya loves me, and now she’s here in my arms.

I could genuinely feel that it was wonderful—